Volozh may transfer control of Yandex in exchange for the removal of assets from Russia – The Bell

Arkady Volozh, the founder of Yandex, may trade control of the Russian branch of the company for the opportunity to move part of his assets abroad. The Bell writes about this, citing two sources.

One of them told the publication that the list of projects that Volozh wants to withdraw from the country is not yet accurate. However, in recent months, there has been a discussion in Yandex, during which the question of transferring the project of drones, cloud services, and the educational project Yandex.Practicum was raised.

“We are making changes in the company necessary for the development of the international directions of four businesses - UAVs, Clouds, Toloka and Praktikum. Some businesses simply cannot be developed under existing restrictions. For example, for unmanned vehicles, processors are critically important, which are not currently supplied to Russia, ”said one of the sources of The Bell.

According to the interlocutors of the publication, negotiations on the deal are not easy. The parties are discussing how to divide employees, under what conditions to transfer rights and to whom to give control of the Russian Yandex.

Take the place of the Dutch parent company of "Yandex" - Yandex NV - may be another, which will include a group of investors with a small stake. Among its possible participants are the structures of Roman Abramovich, Vladimir Potanin and other Russian businessmen.

Aleksey Kudrin helps Volozh with the approval of the deal at the state level. It is assumed that he will leave his post and enter the management of Yandex. According to one of The Bell's sources, he may lead the "Public Interest Fund" or the structure that will replace him. The reward may be Yandex shares or options.

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